Noel Ahern
Question:81 Mr. N. Ahern asked the Minister for Finance if, in view of the loss of employment to companies involved in the customs clearance of goods resulting from the removal of internal Community borders, and in view of the response from his Department officials adverting to unsuitable solutions such as INTERREG and FÁS training schemes, he will give details of the steps, if any, he intends to take to make provision for compensation to those companies which have had or will have to cease trading in the immediate future due to the removal of their means of livelihood, to provide redundancy for staff who have lost their jobs, to make early retirement provisions for those who, because of their specialised expertise gained over many years, have no hope of finding other employment in prevailing circumstances, and whose loss has resulted exclusively from Community developments, and to comply with Commission advice that member states should apply to draw down moieties of Community funds to assist in the amelioration of this situation.